


Nosebleeds

by wordsarelifealways



Series: Insomnia [1]
Category: SKAM (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Caring Even, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Isak talking about his mother, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-27
Updated: 2016-12-27
Packaged: 2018-09-12 17:12:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9081865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wordsarelifealways/pseuds/wordsarelifealways
Summary: Even wakes up in the middle of the night to an empty bed and a pillow case covered in blood and proceeds to take care of his boy.





	

Needless to say, when Even woke up in the middle of the night to a pillow case covered in blood and a distinct lack of Isak he panicked.  He didn’t even realise he was getting out of bed until he was halfway through the bedroom doorway calling Isak’s name.  He could see light spilling out from under the bathroom door, so he tried there first.

He was about to knock on the door when he heard Isak’s muffled voice from inside.

“-bad again.  I got a stupid nosebleed tonight.” Isak’s voice sounded stuffy and hopeless.  His words made Even’s chest seize.  Was Isak talking about _him_?  He didn’t think he’d been getting bad again, but then again he wasn’t the most objective person to spot the signs.

“Yeah, I know.” Isak sighed.  “I know I should tell him, but it sounds so stu-” Whoever Isak was on the phone to must have interrupted him for him to stop so abruptly, Even thought.

He wasn’t going to skulk outside the bathroom and eavesdrop on his boyfriend’s phone call; that was a decidedly shitty thing to do in Even’s mind, so he raised his hand and rapped his knuckles a few times against the smooth grain of the door.

“Isak?” He called quietly, trying not to wake Eskild up.  “Can I come in?”

“Even’s here.  I’ll call you back later.” Isak said quickly and suddenly the door was thrown open.  Shock hit Even like a slap to the face.  Isak looked like all the colour had been washed out of him, save for the messy smears of blood under his nose and down his chin.  He had a wad of tissues under his nose catching the blood and it was more red than white from what Even could see.

Even just about caught the startled look on Isak’s face as he rushed him, but his brain was racing light years ahead of him giving him increasingly more unlikely and horrifying explanations for Isak’s nosebleed.

He backed Isak up into the bathroom, cupping his face with his hands and running them up into Isak’s curls.

“What’s happened?” Even sounded panicked even to his own ears.  If he wasn’t so worried about Isak he’d probably have been embarrassed.

“It’s nothing, just a stress nosebleed.” Isak shook his head as he tossed the bloody tissue into the toilet.  “I get them sometimes, no big deal.” Even was vaguely aware of a hand rubbing his back, but all he could see was his Isak covered in blood.

“Even, hey, hey.” Isak snapped his fingers in front of Even’s face and that brought him out of his macabre thoughts.  “It’s just stress, I promise.  Don’t worry about it.”

“Like it’s that easy.” Even frowned down at Isak, wiping some of the blood away as gently as he could with his thumb before more of it dried to Isak’s pale skin.  Isak smiled faintly up at him, his eyes full of affection.  Something about that look had guilt gnawing at Even’s insides.

“What…what are you this stressed about?” He asked tentatively.  Part of him didn’t want to know the answer, but the bigger part of him was screaming at him to fix whatever it was that was hurting the guy he loved so much.

“It’s stupid.” Isak muttered, turning away from him and running the tap.

“So?  I worry over stupid shit over the time, but I don’t bleed all over the bed sheets like you just did.” Even pointed out and he could see the tips of Isak’s ears go red in embarrassment.  He watched carefully as Isak scooped some water in his hand and rubbed it over the lower half of his face until all the blood washed away.

Their eyes met in the mirror as Isak turned the tap off, and Even’s breath caught in his chest for a moment.

“Is it- am _I_ -”

“ _No_.” Isak interrupted him so forcefully that Even was left momentarily stunned.  “No.  You are not what is stressing me.” Isak pushed right up into Even’s space and Even found himself wrapping his arms around Isak’s smaller frame instinctively.  He wished he could keep Isak like this forever and hide him from the things that worried him so.

“Come to bed.” Isak yawned against Even’s chest and Even could swear he felt something in his heart simultaneously shatter and melt back together.

“Okay.” Even pressed a kiss to the top of Isak’s head and they made their way back to the bed that was moving quickly from being Isak’s to being _theirs_.  Isak wrinkled his nose at his pillow and pulled the cover off it, muttering about washing it tomorrow, before he crawled back into bed.  Even got in behind him and wrapped himself around the smaller boy; he had an arm snug around Isak’s waist and he trailed soft kisses along his warm neck.

Isak made small content sounds in the back of his throat and Even swears he could spend the rest of his life showering this boy in love and cataloguing the sounds he made.  After a few minutes of being subject of his affections, Isak had practically melted into Even’s chest.

“It’s my mum.” Isak sighed.  Even adjusted his arm enough to take Isak’s hand and sure enough the boy clung onto it.

“She’s getting bad again?” Even asked and Isak gave a small nod.  Even wasn’t sure what to make of Isak’s mother.  They hadn’t met, and Isak seemed to intend to keep it that way.  Whenever Even brought up Isak’s mother, Isak would flinch away from the conversation.

Nonetheless, Even felt a strange connection to the woman.  She had been the first mentally ill person in Isak’s life who was central to his life, and now that role seemed to have been passed to Even and he found himself terrified of hurting Isak as badly as his mother seemed to have done.  He couldn’t bear the thought of Isak one day cutting off communication with _him_ because the thought of being around him and his illness was too much to stand.

“I don’t…it’s not like with you.  I don’t know how to help her.  I _never_ knew how to help her.  She keeps sending all these messages, sometimes she even calls and she’s all scared and trying to warn me about ‘things to come’ and shit.” Isak rubbed his forehead with his free hand.

“Dad didn’t know what to do either.  But he just left.  He left _me_ with her and she was such a mess and I- I wasn’t in the right place to help her and it was just shit and what the fuck do I do now?  I don’t live with her now, I can’t babysit her like I used to.  I can’t keep watching her go up and down and listen to her talk about this world that doesn’t exist and-”

“Hey, hey,” Even rubbed a soothing hand over Isak’s frantically rising and falling chest to try to calm him down.  “I don’t know your mother, or the ins and outs of her illness, but I know it isn’t your job to look after her.  You aren’t a professional, Isak, and it sounds like that is what she needs.  This isn’t on your shoulders, no matter how much it feels like it is.” Even promised.

He wouldn’t lie, he had considered having a family a few times but it was always his illness that stopped him.  He couldn’t stand the thought of putting some kid through what Isak had gone through: the turbulent childhood of living with someone unstable.  Maybe one day when Even had found a routine that worked for him, maybe then he could consider having a family again.

Maybe even a family with Isak.

“It feels like it’s my job.  Especially when my dad doesn’t do anything.” Isak admitted and Even nuzzled the soft spot behind his ear gently.

“Why did you not want to tell me?” He asked quietly and he felt Isak let out a long exhale beneath him.

“I don’t know.  I guess partly because it sounds stupid to say I get nosebleeds because of my mother.”

“And the other part?” Even prompted even though he was pretty sure he knew what the answer would be.

“I guess…I guess I thought it was too close to home for you.” Isak turned his head back and searched Even’s face.  “I do worry about you, Even, but it’s different to how I worry about her.  There are a lot of mixed feelings messed up with my mum, but there isn’t with you.”

“No?” Even raised an eyebrow.

“No.” Isak repeatedly firmly.  “All I know is that I love you.  I love you so much that I’d do anything to make you feel better or less alone.  With my mum…I get angry at all she put me and my dad through, and I remember being younger and being scared of how she changed.  Stuff like that.” Isak looked away, shame all over his face.

“I understand.” Even whispered, planting a light kiss on Isak’s temple.

“Thanks.” He felt Isak swallow.

“You can talk to me about her, y’know.  I can take it.” Even said nonchalantly and, to his relief, Isak laughed, the tension melting from his body.

“Good to know, babe.” Isak laughed, but the sound quickly morphed into a yawn and reminded Even that it was still the middle of the night.

“You need rest.” Even stated and he settled more comfortably against Isak, burying his face in the blonde hair he loved so much.  Isak was soft and pliant against him, and Even could only hope that he stayed that relaxed for the rest of the night.

It didn’t take long for Isak to nod back off in the quiet darkness of their room and Even’s heart warmed at the sight of Isak looking so peaceful, his fingers still loosely tangled with Even’s while their bodies were so easily slotted together.

Even is pretty sure he was made to love this boy.

**Author's Note:**

> Had this idea in my head for a couple of days so I thought I'd better write it! This was so fluffy; I have no regrets ✌️
> 
>  
> 
> [I can be found right here](http://isaksredscarf.tumblr.com)


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